Hayden Panettiere reportedly died after taking a single pill believed to be oxycodone contaminated with fentanyl, as authorities were said Monday to be “zeroing in” on her alleged drug supplier.
The actress may have met with her “long-term drug dealer” in Los Angeles before traveling to South Carolina, where she died in a suspected overdose on Aug. 16, shortly before her 37th birthday, according to multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the case who spoke to TMZ.
Sources told the outlet that Panettiere appeared to have taken only one pill on the day of her death. They said the dose proved fatal because it was allegedly laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid described as 50 times stronger than heroin.
Panettiere’s death is being treated as a suspected overdose, though officials have not announced an exact cause of death. Authorities cautioned that toxicology testing could take as long as 12 weeks.
The latest development follows reports that investigators were “zeroing in on a potential drug dealer” connected to the case.
According to TMZ, Drug Enforcement Administration officials in both Los Angeles and South Carolina are investigating the circumstances surrounding Panettiere’s death.
Panettiere’s on-and-off ex-partner, Brian Hickerson, who has been described as abusive, was reportedly with her during the flight and at the South Carolina apartment where she died. He has already spoken with DEA officials, according to reports.
It remains unclear what Hickerson told investigators. He had previously informed police that Panettiere was carrying a “bag of medication.”
The names of the drugs Panettiere was reportedly taking were redacted from records released by Greenville City Police, although the documents referenced nine different types of medication.
Panettiere, best known for her performances in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” had discussed her struggles with addiction in her memoir, “This is Me: A Reckoning,” published three months before her death.
In the book, she spoke openly about her battles with alcohol use, opioid addiction and postpartum depression.
Panettiere also revealed that she was 15 when someone on her team offered her what she called “happy pills” before she appeared on the red carpet.
“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she told People magazine in 2022.
“I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”
Her addiction battle spiralled after appearing on Heroes as a 16-year-old actress.
“But things kept getting out of control [off set],” she admitted.
“And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
Panettiere turned to booze as she battled postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya, in 2014. She shared her daughter with the former heavyweight boxer, Wladimir Klitschko.
The actress developed jaundice – a condition in which the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow due to poor liver function.
“Doctors told me my liver was going to give out,” she said.
“A doctor told me that if I didn’t stop drinking, I’d be dead within five years,” she revealed in her book
